Nominations have been announced for the 2016 Sydney Theatre Awards ahead of a gala ceremony at the Seymour Centre in January 2017. Nominations in the 35 categories were spread across 45 productions which played on Sydney stages during 2016.
In an exciting development, some of Sydney’s newest venues and companies received nominations for the first time, including Old 505 Theatre, Kings Cross Theatre and the National Theatre of Parramatta. The Awards will also be presented in a much larger venue than previous years due to the burgeoning popularity of the ceremony.
Leading the list with ten nominations are two musicals, Little Shop of Horrors, presented by Luckiest Productions and Tinderbox Productions in association with Hayes Theatre Co, and Spring Awakening, presented by atyp, followed by Sport for Jove’s Antigone with nine nominations and Red Line Productions’ The Whale with eight nominations, both hits of the independent theatre year. The Drover’s Wife from Belvoir and Inner Voices from Don’t Look Away and Red Line Productions both received seven nominations, while Sydney Theatre Company’s All My Sons was awarded six.
The Sydney Theatre Awards are presented annually by a group of leading theatre critics to celebrate the strength, quality and diversity of theatre in Sydney. The Sydney Theatre Reviewers consist of: Elissa Blake (Fairfax), Jason Blake (Sydney Morning Herald), Dee Jefferson (Time Out), Deborah Jones (The Australian), Jo Litson (The Sunday Telegraph/ Limelight), John McCallum (The Australian), Ben Neutze (Daily Review), Diana Simmonds (Stagenoise website), Polly Simons (Daily Telegraph) and Cassie Tongue (Aussietheatre/ The Guardian).
The reviewers all felt 2016 was a strong but difficult year for theatre in Sydney. “The richness and quality of so much theatre this year has been an astonishing tribute to the resilience and generosity of our creative theatre artists,” said The Australian’s John McCallum. “This is in the face of dreadful funding cuts and, in the case of the independent sector, mostly no funding at all.”
“That sector continues to rival, and in some cases surpass, the work of the mainstream sector. They have done this by the appallingly simple method of foregoing a decent income for themselves. There has been so much offered to us for free. The mainstream sector has also continued to produce much excellent work. On behalf of Sydney theatregoers we thank them all.”
Fairfax’s Elissa Blake agreed. “This was a year of outcry. Alongside the widespread funding cuts, female writers, directors and actors demanded gender parity across all theatre programming, more female stories and more culturally diverse voices,” said Blake. “There were many, many excellent theatre productions led by women in 2016.”
“Three of the four nominated directors of mainstream productions are women. All the nominated shows for Best Mainstage Production were either led by a female director, written by a woman, or included female performances of outstanding quality. Action has and is being taken to redress imbalance in the theatre and audiences are reaping the rewards.”
Vying for Best Mainstage Production are All My Sons (Sydney Theatre Company), The Drover’s Wife (Belvoir), Faith Healer (Belvoir) and The Hanging (Sydney Theatre Company). The nominees for Best Independent Production are Antigone (Sport for Jove), The Block Universe (Cross Pollinate Productions and Old 505 Theatre), Hurt (White Box Theatre and The Old 505), Inner Voices (Don’t Look Away in association with Red Line Productions) and The Whale (Red Line Productions).
The Sydney Theatre Awards for 2016 will be presented at a gala ceremony on Monday 23 January 2017 at the York Theatre, Seymour Centre. For more information, visit: www.sydneytheatreawards.com for details.
Image: Jessica Rookeward and James Raggatt featured in ATYP’s production of Spring Awakening – photo by Tracey Schramm
Nominations for the 2016 Sydney Theatre Awards are:
MAINSTAGE
BEST MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION
All My Sons (Sydney Theatre Company)
The Drover’s Wife (Belvoir)
Faith Healer (Belvoir)
The Hanging (Sydney Theatre Company)
BEST DIRECTION
Leticia Caceres (The Drover’s Wife)
Lee Lewis (Gloria)
Janice Muller (Lake Disappointment)
Kip Williams (All My Sons)
BEST FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Ana Maria Belo (Tribes)
Marta Dusseldorp (Gloria)
Robyn Nevin (All My Sons)
Leah Purcell (The Drover’s Wife)
BEST MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Colin Friels (Faith Healer)
John Howard (All My Sons)
Luke Mullins (Lake Disappointment)
David Wood (A Flea In Her Ear)
BEST FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Tracy Mann (Relatively Speaking)
Eryn Jean Norvill (All My Sons)
Sarah Peirse (The Golden Age)
Alison Whyte (Faith Healer)
BEST MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Benedict Hardie (The Drover’s Wife)
Pip Miller (Faith Healer)
Jamie Oxenbould (The Literati)
Chris Ryan (All My Sons)
BEST STAGE DESIGN
Alicia Clements (Hay Fever)
Owen Phillips (Little Shop of Horrors)
Brian Thomson (Faith Healer)
Gabriela Tylesova (A Flea In Her Ear)
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Tim Chappel (Little Shop of Horrors)
Alicia Clements (Hay Fever)
Tess Schofield (The Drover’s Wife)
Gabriela Tylesova (A Flea In Her Ear)
BEST LIGHTING DESIGN
Damien Cooper (The Golden Age)
Matt Cox (Lake Disappointment)
Ross Graham (Little Shop of Horrors)
Nicholas Rayment (The Hanging)
Nick Schlieper (A Flea In Her Ear)
BEST SCORE OR SOUND DESIGN
James Brown (Broken)
James Brown (Lake Disappointment)
Nate Edmondson (Savages)
The Sweats (The Drover’s Wife)
INDEPENDENT
BEST INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION
Antigone (Sport for Jove)
The Block Universe (Cross Pollinate Productions and Old 505 Theatre)
Hurt (White Box Theatre and The Old 505)
Inner Voices (Don’t Look Away in association with Red Line Productions)
The Whale (Red Line Productions)
BEST DIRECTION
Shane Anthony (The Whale)
Kate Gaul (Good With Maps)
Philip Rouse (Inner Voices)
Damien Ryan and Terry Karabelas (Antigone)
BEST FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Andrea Demetriades (Antigone)
Paige Gardiner (Three Sisters)
Danielle King (4 Minutes 12 Secs)
Meredith Penman (Hurt)
BEST MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Keith Agius (The Whale)
Damien Strouthos (Inner Voices)
Jacob Warner (The Block Universe)
William Zappa (Antigone)
BEST FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Deborah Galanos (Antigone)
Meredith Penman (The Whale)
Ella Prince (The Shadow Box)
Matilda Ridgway (The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant)
BEST MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Alex Beauman (The Whale)
Thomas Campbell (Three Sisters)
Anthony Gooley (Inner Voices)
Sam O’Sullivan (Journey’s End)
BEST STAGE DESIGN
Charlie Davis (The Whale)
Anna Gardiner (Inner Voices)
Georgia Hopkins (Three Sisters)
Melanie Liertz (Antigone)
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Martelle Hunt (Inner Voices)
Melanie Liertz (Antigone)
Emma Vine (Three Sisters)
Angela White (Side Show)
BEST LIGHTING DESIGN
Alexander Berlage (The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant)
Alexander Berlage (The Whale)
Matt Cox (Antigone)
Sian James-Holland (Inner Voices)
BEST SCORE OR SOUND DESIGN
Nate Edmonson (Good With Maps)
Bryce Halliday with Thomas Royce-Hampton (Antigone)
Basil Hogios/Katelyn Shaw (The Whale)
Hamish Michael and Hue Blanes (80 Minutes No Interval)
OTHER CATEGORIES
BEST NEW AUSTRALIAN WORK
Benedict Andrews (Gloria)
Angela Betzien (The Hanging)
Kate Mulvany (Jasper Jones)
Lachlan Philpott and Luke Mullins (Lake Disappointment)
Leah Purcell (The Drover’s Wife)
BEST NEWCOMER
Jonny Hawkins (Relatively Speaking)
James Raggatt (Spring Awakening)
Jessica Rookeward (Spring Awakening)
Mia Rorris (The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant)
Elijah Williams (Black Jesus)
BEST ENSEMBLE
Broken (Darlinghurst Theatre Company)
Savages (Darlinghurst Theatre Company)
Slut (Edgeware Forum and Rue de la Rocket)
Swallow (National Theatre of Parramatta)
BEST PRODUCTION OF A MUSICAL
Fiddler on the Roof (The Works Entertainment)
Little Shop of Horrors (Luckiest Productions and Tinderbox Productions in association with Hayes Theatre Co)
My Fair Lady (Opera Australia and John Frost)
Spring Awakening (atyp)
You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown (Hayes Theatre Co)
BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL
Dean Bryant (Little Shop of Horrors)
Mitchell Butel (Spring Awakening)
Roger Hodgman (Fiddler on the Roof)
Shaun Rennie (You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown)
JUDITH JOHNSON AWARD FOR BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Laura Bunting (Side Show)
Kerrie Anne Greenland (Side Show)
Esther Hannaford (Little Shop of Horrors)
Anna O’Byrne (My Fair Lady)
Jessica Rookeward (Spring Awakening)
JUDITH JOHNSON AWARD FOR BEST PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
David Campbell (Dream Lover)
Brent Hill (Little Shop of Horrors)
James Raggatt (Spring Awakening)
Anthony Warlow (Fiddler on the Roof)
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Kate Cheel (Spring Awakening)
Hannah Fredericksen (Dream Lover)
Sheridan Harbridge (You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown)
Laura Murphy (You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown)
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Blake Bowden (Fiddler on the Roof)
Scott Johnson (Little Shop of Horrors)
Reg Livermore (My Fair Lady)
Mark Mitchell (Fiddler on the Roof)
BEST MUSICAL DIRECTION
Lucy Bermingham (Spring Awakening)
Daniel Edmonds (Dream Lover)
Michael Tyack (The Detective’s Handbook)
Andrew Worboys (Little Shop of Horrors)
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY IN A MUSICAL
Amy Campbell (Spring Awakening)
Andrew Hallsworth (Dream Lover)
Andrew Hallsworth (Little Shop of Horrors)
Cameron Mitchell (Mack and Mabel)
BEST CABARET PRODUCTION
Cathartic (Cath Alcorn)
Liza’s Back (is broken) (Trevor Ashley)
Working Class Boy: An Evening of Stories and Songs (Jimmy Barnes)
To the Moon and Back (Gillian Cosgriff)
BEST PRODUCTION FOR CHILDREN
Hamlet: Prince of Skidmark (Sydney Theatre Company and The Listies)
Mr Stink (CDP)
The Peasant Prince (Monkey Baa)
BEST PRODUCTION FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
The Big Dry (atyp and Ensemble Theatre)
Girl Asleep (Belvoir)
Jasper Jones (Belvoir)
Spring Awakening (atyp)
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
To be announced at the Awards ceremony